BOOKS   BOOKS  BOOKS

Welcome.  We have been buying and selling books since the early 1970's. Our books are carefully selected for quality. All books are cleaned, inspected and the defects noted in our descriptions. All purchases  are fully guaranteed to be to your satisfaction . To peruse or search our inventory, click on one of the below links.

 

We are always interested in buying good quality books, especially collections. We also buy many recent books, review copies and textbooks. Please email us or give us a call at 860-489-1570.

We pay cash and will come to you at your convenience. Large lots or accumulations are welcome.

 

Amazon.com

Digest magazines: Science Fiction  
Alibris.com  
ABE.com  

Books listed on these websites can be purchased directly from us at a 10% discount. We accept cash, money orders and Paypal. The first step is to email  us with author/title and your location.

GRADING

NEW:  New books do not have any remainder marks, dust jacket tears, or 'shelf wear'.
AS NEW:  Books do not have any remainder marks, dust jacket tears, or 'shelf wear'. This grade is used on books that are a few years too old to be called new, but still look and feel new. Same condition as when it was first put on the shelf.
FINE:  Books may have very slight wear to surface or edges, dust jacket may not have tears. Binding is tight/square.
NEAR FINE:  Light 'shelf wear', could include small edge tears, bumped corners, more pronounced surface wear... but mild. Binding solid and square.
VERY GOOD:  An average used book that has been treated well with no major defects. Has likely been read but is still clean and the binding is still sound.
GOOD:  A worse than average used book. Could have light stains, folded page corners, small tears/chips.
ACCEPTABLE:  All ex-library copies (no matter how nice they look), or a book with soil/stains or marks in the text.  Complete and readable but not easy on the eyes.

We try to always note defects in books. We abhor: remainder marks, stains and soil.  Things always noted:

 Stains, water damage, bookplates, names, stickers, underlining, hi-lighting, ex-library marks.

We  adhere to the AB Bookman condition guide as follows:

  1. As New is to be used only when the book is in the same immaculate condition in which it was published. There can be no defects, no missing pages, no library stamps, etc., and the dust jacket (if it was issued with one) must be perfect without any tears. (The term As New is preferred over the alternative term Mint to describe a copy that is perfect in every respect, including jacket.)
  2. Fine approaches the condition of As New, but without being crisp. For the use of the term Fine there must also be no defects, etc., and if the jacket has a small tear, or other defect, or looks worn, those should be noted.
  3. Very Good can describe a used book that does show some small signs of wear - but no tears - on either binding or paper. Any defects must be noted.
  4. Good describes the average used and worn book that has all pages or leaves present. Any defects must be noted.
  5. Fair is a worn book that has complete text pages (including those with maps or plates) but may lack endpapers, half-title, etc. (which must be noted). Binding, jacket (if any), etc., may also be worn. All defects must be noted.
  6. Poor describes a book that is sufficiently worn that its only merit is as a Reading Copy because it does have the complete text, which must be legible. Any missing maps or plates should still be noted. This copy may be soiled, scuffed, stained or spotted and may have loose joints, hinges, pages, etc.
  7. Ex-library copies must always be noted as such no matter what the condition of the book.
  8. Book Club editions must always be noted as such no matter what the condition of the book.
  9. Binding Copy describes a book in which the pages or leaves are perfect but the binding is very bad, loose, off, or nonexistent.
     

SHIPPING

Books are bubble-wrapped and shipped in sturdy cardboard boxes, except for inexpensive paperback copies. We use a professional mailing system with bar code address labels and delivery confirmation numbers. 

International shipping is usually via Priority international.  Please email us for rates on heavy or oversized items.

 

INTERNET   TIPS

 You should assume that when a seller does not state the edition, you will be receiving a reprint, a book club or an ex-library copy.

You should avoid anyone selling 'mint' or 'perfect' copies, as these do not exist. The seller has either poor eyesight, is IQ challenged, or just plain dishonest.

You should avoid sellers that have poor feedback (less than 95%), or sellers who use bogus or misspelled terms.  A few we have seen:

 'bran new', 'pages are tight', 'shelfware'

Avoid sellers that state 'text is unmarked'. This can mean that page edges ARE marked (ie remainder). When we state clean/tight & unmarked we mean ALL marks (including remainder marks).

Beware of drop shippers. These are large volume sellers that have no stock. If you order from them, they go online and find a low priced copy from a third party and have it sent to you. They are simply middle-men that pocket the difference between the price you paid and the price they paid. You will often receive a really horrible condition ex-library copy.

Quality 7

International Books

Anybook

TSC Books

 

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